Our Birthday Day

Weeks ago I figured out what I was going to do for "our" birthday.  For those of you who don't know, my grandson Riley and I share the same birthday.  What is also interesting is that I shared my birthday with my grandmother Nellie.  As the grandmother, Nellie would take us out on our birthday traditionally for lunch and shopping (for a gift and for school clothes).  I am trying to do the same thing for my grandson's too but since shopping isn't a little boy's dream we go to the movies (their choice).

For lunch I decided to take Riley to the Olive Garden where he could have two of his favorite foods; spaghetti and chicken fingers.  Plus they had bread sticks... an other favorite of his.  So my lunch choice seemed to be a hit.

 

 

We went to the movies and saw The Odd Life of Timothy Green (his choice).  He was concerned that I would be bothered that Timothy dies.  But after seeing the movie I explained that Timothy didn't die.  Actually Timothy isn't born so he doesn't die.  Timothy appears and then disappears.  (Sorry if you haven't seen it but that isn't the important part of the story).  He exists for a "season" to teach a lesson to the couple who are wanting a child.  Personally, I would wait for the DVD to come out.  However, Riley enjoyed it and that was what is important.

Later after we got home, we went to have a cupcake instead of having a birthday cake that we wouldn't eat all of it.  Each one of us pick our favorite too so that is special too about going out for a cupcake.  Kari likes the Cupcake Wars on TV and so she tried one called "Elvis".  It was banana, chocolate, and peanut butter.  She liked it the best for those she sampled.

Riley turned 9 years old and now is heading for 4th grade... Can you believe it?

Have a good day!

Where Did That Weekend Go???

OK, that weekend went by way too fast!!!  I barely can remember it all it is such a blur, but I will try.  Friday I had off from work (as I have done this summer on most Fridays).  I decided that this Friday I my big mission would be to go into Walmart and get the boys school supplies without them being with me.  After all, Friday is a weekday and without their wanting this… it should be easier. 

I think that it was easier going into Walmart on a Friday… there were only about ten moms.  However it isn’t fun having two lists and going around in circles with a cart getting each item.  I would have to decide what to do with some things such as one list calls for 1 of an item and the other list might call for two of the same item… but the item might be packaged with 4.  So I have an extra items… so what I think I will do with the extra items is give them either to the school for extras or give them to the church who is collecting school supplies for low income families.

I also got a text message from Costco that my glasses were ready to be picked up.  I am so pleased that I had my exam and was able to follow through getting them this summer.  Going through a divorce really puts a person in a place where you get derailed from what you usually would be doing if you weren’t dealing with all those emotions etc.  I am really trying to get back on track again now that I am feeling better.  I am so excited to have new glasses!  I will see if I can take a picture with my phone/ camera (that doesn’t do well when taking self-portrait shots). 

On Saturday we went to take the boys to get their haircuts.  We take them to this place over in Kent where the Vietnam ladies are so kind to them.  Their haircuts are only $9 each too.  We were able to go to IKEA too to check out the price on a new dress for the boys (we need more space).  We will have to wait until my next paycheck for that item but now we know what to buy.

Sunday we attended church and went to lunch at Wendy’s.  Once home we worked on the yard since the yard waste will be picked up on Tuesday.  Kari bought me an edger and she got out there and edged the side yard for me and also mowed the grass (although without rain there is little to mow).  They say we will be getting rain this week which will be good for the grass and plants.  It has been about 6 weeks since we last saw rain and we have had warm weather (for here) so everything looks really dry.

This week I only work two days and then I will be off from work through September 4^th.  Both the boys and I will return to “school” on the 5^th.  Wednesday is Riley and my birthday and I have something planned for us to do so I will write about that next.

Have a great week!

Dog Days

Last week it was in the 90s, and this week it is in the 60s.  Suddenly there is a thirty degree drop in the temperature outside!  And more inside our office!  We have been freezing… wearing sweaters, jackets, and turning on our space heaters under our desks.  I guess they can’t fix it until next week sometime.

I have looked ahead online and by the weekend we will be back in the 70s again.  I am making plans as to how we might spend our weekend since it will be the last one before the boys go back to school.  Labor Day weekend we will be going camping and we will not be at home. 

I have officially begun my “birthday week” which sometimes lasts longer than a week.  Yesterday the girls in my office gave me a luncheon.  And this morning my friend Renee came in with a donut from our special bakery (unfortunately I ate only half of it because I am cutting back… which is hard thing to do at your birthday).  Come to think of it, the donut may not be because of my birthday… Renee just does nice things like that.  That last time she came by she brought me a latte from Starbucks.

Riley will be having his 9^th birthday on the same day.  I am making plans for us to celebrate which includes taking him to the Olive Garden for lunch and then to the movies.  I think we might see Thunderstruck which comes out on the 24^th.

That is all I have for now…. Have a good rest of the week!

The Twilight Zone

This weekend we focused on the boys... getting them ready for school and doing some last days of summer fun things together.  We also bought something so the house since we are still decorating it and making things work.

We made another trip to Costco and I bought a harvest wreath for the living room.  The large wall is beginning to get some things on it and they are making the room a little warmer in the decorations.  Most of the rooms are decorated.  The boys room needs a little more and the living room. 

I am alway afraid I am going to run into Dave (my ex husband of a year and a half) at Costco.  We went there a lot together.  And once we saw a guy that looked a lot like Dave at Lowe's.  Kari went into the store and discovered that the guy wasn't Dave at all.  So I have been trying to relax and not fear running into him in places we had gone in our life together.

Well, today I decided that we would go to one of the beaches we like to sea glass hunt at and eat at the restaurant that is next to the beach named Salty's.  During the summer Salty's has an open outside window where one can buy fish and chips, chowder, etc.  It is one of those things on my famous summer checkoff list.

We got there, parked, got out and ordered the food at the window.  Suddenly Kari whispers to me, "Dave is here."  I didn't look around to see if Dave was really there... I just got the boys and walked to the side of the building and we looked out to the water.  I kept my back to where they would be walking.  I had no curiosity to see Dave with his new wife. 

Kari stayed behind were the food was going to be delivered.  Dave, Aaron (Dave's son), his aunt, and his new wife.  They walked on to their cars even though they knew Kari was there.  Of course, knowing Kari her look on her face wasn't exactly friendly.  She is very protective of me and the boys... and she doesn't like what he did to me, but she also doesn't like how he treated the boys.

Aaron, once in his car, waved to Kari.  She went over to his car and they talked briefly.  He told her he missed her.  The spoke briefly but they said that they would text. I am surprised that Aaron talked to Kari at the expense of being seen by his dad.  But he must feel odd that his dad divorced one stepmom and married another within a year.

What to hear something weird?  How about creepy?  Right out the Twilight Zone... he married a woman who could be my sister according to those who have seen her including now Kari.  She is the same age, has dark hair, and is the same size etc.  I was thinking she might be the typical younger... or different in looks but to be "replaced" is just weird!  And she has shorter hair... which he never liked!  Go figure.

Anyway, it is odd to deal with all of this... but in the end, I am getting to the point that I am glad to be where I am.  I don't know if you could imagine what I have been through and it has been a roller coaster ride sometimes.  However, the ride is slowing down and I am ready to get off.  Especially when I learn more about what has gone on with him.  He is the one that got the divorce... and now remarried.  And now I discover the new wife looks like me.  I am so glad I never told him where I live.

What do you think? 

Have a good week!  HUGS

Awake at 4 am?

It is Saturday morning... early.  I woke up earlier and watched a movie.  Why am I awake?  I don't know.  It just happens every now and again.  I am thankful it isn't a week day... I can handle it better when it happens on the weekend.

One thing to blame for my being awake is that it has been warm this week and sleep doesn't come easy.  Most of us here don't bother with getting AC because it is only a few days in the summer we might need it.  Instead we have fans and ceiling fans going all the time.  It helps but it isn't AC.  I might have to look into getting a small AC for next year.

This year my "funds" are going towards other things.  I have already mentioned the boys getting ready for school "checklist" and Riley's birthday.  But I also just bought my next pair of glasses.  Yesterday, I went to Costco and picked out a pair... I haven't bought a pair since 2008.  The doctor said that coming in to have an eye exam should happen every three years.  So, I am off a year but because of what I have been through in the past couple of years, it was the last thing on my mind.  I am just now trying to catch up with getting things done that I need to stay on top of such as physicals and the dentist etc.

We also yesterday went to the Supermall and bought the boys their shoes, some clothes, and a backpack for Brady.  I also found a nice wall decoration for the big wall in the living room.  And I also found a head set for Riley for his birthday.  So it was an expensive day but it was all for a good reason.  Saturday is going to be spent at home doing chores and relaxing.  I might even get a nap in.

Have a great weekend!

Warm Week Here in the PNW

This week has been a warm one.  However, you would never it know it working in our offices at the college.  Someone turned the AC up.  We have been wearing our jackets (not coats though) and turning on our space heaters next to our chairs to stay warm.  Coming from So CA, coffee didn’t have the appeal there as it does here.  Just the warmth of just holding the coffee cup is enough to switch over.  Eventually, I have become a one cup a day drinker after 19 years of living here.  However, during the summer months I am not as interested in drinking coffee as I am the rest of the cooler parts of the year.  We’ve been drinking coffee every morning including me.  It seems we can’t win.  We either have cool weather or the office is freezing.

The end of the summer quarter is tomorrow.  Fall quarter doesn’t start until September 24^th.  We will have all the parking etc. we want for over a month.  We won’t have traffic coming into or going out of the college.  It is the quiet time of the year. 

The boys go back to school on September 5^th.  I have been keeping my eye on the date and buying a little at a time towards their school supplies, clothes and shoes, and they will need a haircut too.  It is rather expensive to get kids ready for school… so I pace myself.  This coming weekend we will work towards this goal.

Riley also has a birthday on August 29^th (my birthday).  I have given his mom some money also towards his “big gift” he wants for his birthday… a DS 3D.  So we have lots of things we are doing in the next couple of weeks to get ready.

Have a good rest of the week!  See you this Friday!

Summer Checklist

Last week wasn’t all that exciting.  I went back to work after a week vacation.  Friday night at New Heart (a recovery group) I was to teach both the whole group and the family group.  However, the small membership of the family group didn’t show.  It was a nice warm evening (which doesn’t happen that often in Seattle), so I don’t blame them at all.  I don’t think I would have shown if I wasn’t in charge. 

I have a checklist for summer of those things that I would like to do.  I was able to do a few of those things on Saturday.  Saturday we went down the hill from where we live to the downtown area to a festival called Auburn Good Old Days.  Each city has one of these festivals and each one is a little different from the others.  At these festivals they have the booths of various vendors and their products but this one has a lot more music and performances.  It is smaller than the one I went to in Kent last month.  But it is still nice to go to visit.

As time is getting closer to school beginning, on my checklist is to get ready for school... hair cuts, clothes, backpacks and supplies, and shoes are a part of the list.  You might have the same list.  I was able to beginning this checklist on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday evening we took the boys to the drive in theater (yes, we still have one here) to see Wimpy Kid, Dog Days and the new Ice Age movies.  It is like going back into the 60s.  Even the snack bar is decorated in the yellow and orange you would have seen back then.  After two movies, it was just after midnight… yet the boys hung in there and was awake through it all.  They went to sleep right away when we got home but they stayed up the whole time, which surprised me.

Sunday was church and after church Kari went to meet up with friends to go swimming in one of the near by lakes.  Now, usually you would think this wouldn’t make anyone nervous.  However, one of our students drowned in one of the lakes a week ago Sunday and there is always all these drowning of people who you would think wouldn’t drown.  What I mean by that is… this student was 19 years old, strong, and an athlete.   He knew how to swim.  So what happened?

I have discovered since then that one of the ways that people drown here is from cold incapacitation.  A pocket of cold water from the mountains here causes a swimmer to not be able to move… and therefore they can drown.  You can read about it more at this website http://mariovittone.com/2010/10/the-truth-about-cold-water/  .  I would think it would be in very cold places however it isn’t so.  My co-worker’s son in law experienced this and fortunately he survived… but it scared him.  Now she and I are letting everyone know about this cause for drowning.  I am convinced that this may have been the reason our student drowned last week.  (By the way, he was the forth in a year’s time… the last one was a 17 year old on June 23^rd at the same lake)

Well, on that cheerful note I think I will leave you with something to think about.  I had never heard of these reasons in California, however very few people know about their environment here and things happen.

Have a good week!

Vacation continued...

Hi Everyone… Thought I would get back here sooner but I didn’t.  Now almost a whole week has passed so bear with me as I try to catch up.  I wanted to continue on the next post about our visit to Spokane… so here it is:

After coming back from Idaho and our big day at Silverwood we slept really well that nigh.  The train that was only a few yards from us didn’t seem to bother me at all.  We decided to have the pancakes that most KOA places offer for breakfast and then went into the pool to cool off.  After swimming we got in the car to tour Spokane. 

Spokane Falls

Downtown Spokane is full of old brick buildings.  The Spokane River runs next to it… as well as the famed River Front Park.  The park is full of things to do… a sky ride in a gondola over the Spokane Falls, a carrousel from the early 1900s, places to buy snack and souvenirs,  a large fountain for the kids to get wet in, an amusement park, floating stages for various concerts and fireworks, and a train.  Oh, and a very big Red Flyer Wagon for the kids (and adults who like to act like kids) to play on. 

We went on the Sky rider over the falls which was a fun thing to do.  I don’t know if Brady would agree with me because he seemed a little unsure about it the whole time.  I understand there are more and more of these rides around.  We also just got a big Ferris wheel in Seattle with gondolas which are supposed to be warm in the winter and have AC in the summer.

We went to a few stores at the mall, one being a bookstore.  I was able to buy the bigger book of “Boundaries” which we will be using at New Heart on Friday nights.  I will be leading a group this Friday so I wanted to be ready if anyone shows up (summer and warmer weather doesn’t bring them in).

Wednesday was our drive back to the West side (as they say in this state).  It took me about 5 hours to drive back.  The cat was sure glad to see us after being gone for a few days.  He was doing well with his big dish of food and water… but he loves us.

I decided that on Thursday and Friday I would do some things to officially remove “Wix” from my Social Security number and my driver’s license.  I have a CDL (Commercial Driver License) and so I had to go to the Social Security Administration office first.   Last time I did it in reverse and I couldn’t get done want I needed to get done… so now a little more informed, I was ready.

I can’t believe how the SSA office is now days.  I was first met by an officer at the door (with gun) that asked me if I had a gun, knife, Taser, pepper stray etc…  I was a little bit caught off guard and must have given him a face because I shook my head “no” and was asked again.  Another lady asked me if I had any questions and I told her that I wasn’t asked that question every day.  She commented it was necessary these days.

I didn’t have to wait too long before I was called to a window where a very “no nonsense” African American woman in her 50s was sitting.  I sat down and gave her all my information and documentation.  I told her that I had my birth certificate too.  Her response was “Did I ask you for your birth certificate?”  “Well, no.”  I just was offering it if it was needed but I felt like a five year old for even saying anything, so I decided to just sit there and endure the rest of it until I was excused.

The Department of Licensing (DMV to others) was a lot kinder to me.  Not only did I get my name changed, I was able to get an Enhanced license which would allow me to go into Canada and Mexico without a passport.  It only was $15 do get that all done.

The weekend was hot for these parts… it got into the 90s.  Although Spokane was in the 90s, it was a desert heat.  Here there is more humidity so it is a sweaty 90 degrees rather than dry.  We stayed inside with fans blowing at us from all directions.  We don’t have AC here because we only need it for about 2 days out of the year.  Sunday didn’t seem as bad as Saturday because there was a breeze coming from the Sound. 

Monday was back to work for me and I have been trying to get back into the swing of it since.  Lol

I will post this week again so that my posts aren’t so long.  Have a good day!

Spokane WA and Silverwood (Idaho)

Yesterday we returned from our trip across our fair state of Washington to Spokane.  Not to mention our trek into Idaho to an amusement park there called Silverwood.  We left Sunday morning and we took our time going across on I-90.  We arrived at the KOA camp in Spokane Valley around 3:30 pm.  It is about a 4 hour to 5 hour drive from where we live to there.

We did stop here and there just to look around.  One stop was in Mose Lake and one was in Ritzville.  We thought that Ritzville was very entertaining... it is a very old town with many old structures.  However, one building is the grocery store called "Pretty Good Grocery Store".  We thought that was funny since it wasn't called the "Best Grocery Store" etc.  It seems as though they lack something... especially marketing skills.  However, in a small town like Ritzville... who needs marketing skills?

After we got up our new tent (3 rooms) from Costco, we went to a restaurant that is sister to one in Auburn (where we live).  The restaurant is the Longhorn restaurant... it is BBQ.  The boys love it.  And then we drove around to see what was around us.

That night we had to deal with various new noises... the bikers next to us, the machines from this water tank looking thing behind us, and of course, trains.  One train track had many trains coming through in it.  It was about 1/2 mile away.  However, one train would come through on a closer track... about a quarter of a football field away.  We would think it was coming through the tent sometimes. So, the first night we hardly got any sleep.... go figure.  That was too bad because we were heading to Silverwood on Monday and it would have been good to have lots of rest.

The weather on the other side of the Cascade Mts is different than on the west side where we live.  The clouds get hung up on this side and so it is cooler and as you know, it rains more here.  On the other side, there is more sun.  It does snow in the winter.  It is mostly flat without any trees.  They are opposites.

Spokane, was about 85 to 90 degrees most of the time we were there.  We are use to the climate there because of coming from So CA.  Actually we loved sitting in the sun and feeling the rays.  Many people here do not like feeling the warmth of the sun and complain.  Anyway, it was really nice.

On Monday we went a few miles to Idaho and went to Cour ed Lane and then went north about a half hour to Silverwood.  It reminded me of an early Knott's Berry Farm... or even a Magic Mountain (because Magic Mountain use to be out in the hills away from everything too).  Riley went with Kari on is first roller coaster ride... and I am thinking he didn't really care for it.  It scared him a little.  He may like them later in life.  He just doesn't want to completely say he didn't like it because Kari loves them.  He doesn't want to disappoint her.  Of course, they went on the monster ride... and didn't start slow.  So she may have to pay for that decision in Riley not being so sure about roller coaster rides at this time.  But all in all, we had a really great time.

Silverwood also has Boulder Bay, a water park.  It has wonderful things for everyone... even a lazy river. 

I will write more later about our trip so that I am not boring you in one post.  Have a wonderful day!